Beijing takes action to cut pollution

China's capital Beijing has released plans to reduce air pollution levels by 15 per cent by 2015 and 30 per cent by 2020, according to state media.

The plans will look to phase out old cars, relocate factories and plant new forests in an attempt to bring air levels down to a safer level. In recent months the smokestack emissions, vehicle exhausts, dust and aerosols have covered the city in a pungent cloud of smog which caused flight cancellations and forced many residents to stay in their homes.

There has been conflict recently over the air pollution figures published in the city. The US publish PM 2.5 figures which have frequently shown air quality to be severely below par, but the Chinese authorities have been using PM 10, which lets many of the smaller particles slip.

The government have implemented new PM2.5 readers in Beijing recently, and plan to do the same in other major cities soon. Shanghai will start publishing data on pollutants smaller than 2.5 in diameter in June, China News Service revealed recently, and also plans to introduce emission controls. 

In Beijing, Xinhua news agency said 1.6 million old and polluting vehicles will be taken off the roads by 2020, and that all cement factories would be closed by then. Additionally, the city will limit coal consumption and plant 133,000 hectares of new forests.

Posted by Joseph Hutton